Verizon Adds Direct Links to HP Helion, Salesforce Clouds

Verizon has added HP Helion and Salesforce to its platform that offers private network links to cloud services.

HP brings its managed cloud Infrastructure-as-a-Service and Salesforce brings a suite of sales, service, marketing, collaboration, and the new big data analytics applications delivered as cloud services.

Verizon now offers access to six cloud service providers, the other four are Amazon Web Services (added recently), Google, Microsoft, and Verizon’s own cloud. The aim is to give enterprise customers as wide a selection of providers as possible. Providers of network and data center services have been making their services more attractive by giving access to as many other service providers as possible.

Verizon handles maintenance and network connectivity with dynamic bandwidth allocation to each cloud. It also provides security and encryption for traffic passing across the network, application performance throughput, and quality of service options. Clients have the option to add Verizon Managed Security Services, including firewall, anti-virus, anti-spam, image, and content control.

One caveat is that end users can access these cloud services on mobile devices so long as they’re on Verizon’s 4G LTE network or from laptops connected to Verizon’s global IP network for security purposes. The service is targeted at big enterprises wanting to use cloud services securely.

Verizon also recently launched a Cloud Marketplace, tuned more for small and mid-size businesses and companies transitioning applications to cloud. It’s available in public cloud and virtual private cloud-reserved performance deployments, with no-cost and bring-your-own-license pricing models at launch, and metered billing options in 2015.